This is quite a complex and layered beer. Bold and smooth chocolate malt flavors combine with a Belgian yeast lending tropical fruit/banana flavors and hints of spiciness, all complemented by citrus notes from an addition of tangerine peel. Rich vanilla beans add a nice counter to the chocolate malt - actually enhancing the chocolatiness. The finish is smooth, with additional traces of vanilla and toasted characters from French Oak. The goal for this edition of the Stone Vertical Epic Ale series is to be reminiscent of artisanal chocolates accentuated with orange.

This pours a tawny dark amber color. I get a boozy “rummy” aroma—like rum with some strong vanilla notes to it. The flavor is … off. It’s harsh and off-balanced with an artificial vanilla flavor dominating on top a strong Belgian dark ale base beer. Time has not treated this one kindly. (297 characters)

O: A really good beer that has made the two-plus year journey. BSDA is a broad category so I'd say this is definitely a Belgian Stout or something similar. From what I've gathered, this is one of the better VE's for aging so I'm glad this is one of the few that I tried. (748 characters)

22oz. bottle: I was surprised I hadn’t recorded this one earlier. This one pours a dark, inky brown color. There was a bit of a light brown head on it that lingers a bit and leaves some lacing. This has a very nice nose to it. Chocolate, vanilla, yeast, spices, perhaps some orange and a hint of coffee. The taste is very good. Rich and full, with actually a touch of bitterness on top of all those malts. Chocolate, coffee, caramel, dark fruits, some spiciness, citrus. An excellent combination. (498 characters)

2009 properly cellared bottle, poured into a Maudite snifter. Pours a very dark brown, appearing opaque black in the glass. Fine two finger light brown head with great retention and lots of lacing. Delicious aroma of chocolate, dark and caramel malt, vanilla, oak and whiskey, one of the best smelling ales I've experienced. Flavor follows aroma, dominated by sweet and toasted malt, chocolate, vanilla and a touch of oak and coffee. Finish is a bit stark with charred coffee, oak and hop bitterness. Medium bodied with a hint of creaminess. An unusual Belgian influenced ale, almost approaching a Belgian stout in malt and flavor complexity. Very enjoyable and one of the best of a series that all aged remarkably well. Kudos to Stone. (736 characters)

D - Drinking this 22oz bottle by myself tonight. This is just about right. One full glass wasn't enough, but the extra half glass made for a perfect dose. Somewhere between a sipper and a session beer - closer to a sipper. Very interesting beer. Definitely will come back to this one again...and one more time for the vertical on New Years Eve 12/31/12... 4.0 (1,702 characters)

A - One-finger brown head with good retention, opaque and black in color, lacing on glass.

S - Bread, sugar, chocolate and raisins

T - Had a bready taste to it, hints of toffee, some dark fruit and an alcohol taste on the back end that lingered a little bit.

M - Low carbonation, smooth, not very heavy for such a dark beer. Dry finish

O - Definitely a winter warmer. The alcohol taste is not masked well, but this is compensated by the flavor that is present as it hits the tongue. Not an overly "heavy" beer. I've sampled each Epic from '06-12 and for the darker styles, this one is only slightly above "average" for the series. the '06 is the more superior "Belgian Strong Dark Ale", in my opinion. Porter is probably a more accurate classification for this brew. A pleasure to try, but likely won't revisit this, if presented with the opportunity in the future. (929 characters)

Pours out a dark black liquid with one finger of very tan suds. Lacing here about the glass.Aroma is very light cinnamon and star of anise and a formalahyde type smell.Taste is a weak mishmash of sugar and charred malts with a hint of the pepper spice thrown in at the end. Not really enough going on here.Mouthfeel is fairly clean with just a tad of sugar stickyness lingering at the end. The 8.6% is hidden well all through the tasting. The peppery feel at the back of the throat is kinda nice but that isn't enough to keep me coming back for another slug.Overall this is another dissapointment.. It's not terrible by any means , just not noteworthy as far as good beer should be. (686 characters)

This brew was served on draft at the Tap and Mallet Vertical Epic tasting event. It arrived in a tasting glass, showing a dark brown coloring, with light ruby letting up around the edges. It held a one finger head of light tan bubbles, showing great retention. Lacing was minimal, but carbonation did appear to be active. No haze or sediment was noted. The aroma gave syrupy fig and a twang of molasses against roasted coffee malts, and thick caramel malts. Chalky dryness of pales echoed somewhere on the back, with tangerine rind bite and sourness being definitely apparent. Light vanilla smoothness came out with heat, alongside hearty booziness. Our first impression was that there was a crazy depth to the malts, with nice warming burnt smokiness to balance the sweetness of fig. As we sipped, dark fig syrups, fusel booze, burnt liquid caramel, faintly toasted pale malts, metallic yeastiness, buttery diacetyls, and juicy saltiness mixed for a complex start. The peak came with added complexity of plum sugars, stronger fig sweetness, depth and metallics of coffee malts, and a lighter seaweed vegetable quality. The end was with molasses, the return of cloying sugary sweetness, a nice and enhanced depth of caramel malts, pale drying toast, and that maintained coffee smokiness. The aftertaste breathed of salt, molasses, anise, light smoke, leathers, caramel syrups, and toasty coffee malts. The body was medium to full, and the carbonation was medium. There was nice slurp and froth to the sip, with good cream and foaminess left around the mouth. This was quickly followed by an astringent drying bite, eliminating most of the initial juicy wetness. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was the depth to the malts. There was such a nice roast and smoke to the coffees and caramels by the end you would swear that you were drinking separate beers. The flavor really does develop and enhance throughout the tasting, keeping you guessing until the last drops. Additionally, the big molasses and buttery qualities added oily slickness, keeping the mouth soft. This was a nice blend. (2,152 characters)

O- sadly she is past her prime. It has so many great aromas/flavors, yet wet cardboard is ever present. As it warmed the wet cardboard scent grew so intense that i had to stop smelling it and just enjoy the flavor as it only showed up slightly in taste. Wish i had tried this fresh. (639 characters)

S- Chocolate, some cocoa, light tangerines, oranges, a hint of bananas, vanilla, and yeast. About average aroma strength.

T- Chocolate, malts, tangerines, oranges, slight smokiness, a little bit of vanilla. Nice balance between chocolate and citrus, could have used a little bit more flavor.

M- Medium bodied, fairly low carbonation, goes down very easily.

O- This was a nice beer that is one of my favorites of the series. The 09 held up well with age, but I don't think it really gained all that much in my opinion (if anything it might have lost a tiny bit). Personally I liked the barrel-aged version of this a lot better, I thought the chocolate and tangerines actually came out a lot more. (984 characters)

Real nice aromas off this one. Yeasty...light fruit dipped in dark chocolate and blended with vanilla. Some toffee/caramel undertones as well. Honestly it almost smells like a fresh banana split, super sweet and mellowed out from the cellar.

Damn delicious, possessing layers and layers of flavor. Chocolate and orange peel dominate with a Belgian yeast character meshing them together. There's some oak and vanilla creeping in the background. Really really well blended.

Relatively thick, almost a dessert beer honestly. Alcohol is not detectable in the slightest. Time did wonders for this guy.

Wish I could get more of this...damn awesome. Hope the '10-'12 I have are just as good. (951 characters)

The smell still has some of that tangerine peel quality. I figured it would fade away over the years of aging; it has, but not by as much as I figured. That citrus peel note blends pretty well with the spiced chocolate aromas. This is definitely a Belgian yeast strain.

The flavor is pretty smoothed out at this point: floral spiciness, milk chocolate, a bit of orange. I'm not in love with it, and I'm a person who loves Belgian stouts. I think what I'm looking for is more roast to match up with the phenols. As is, this is like a lesser variant of something like Boulevard Dark Truth. (742 characters)

Pours dark - black in fact - with little to no light showing through. A finger of head on a 9 oz pour - cream clored. Great mouthfeel - solid carbonation up front with a rise towards the back end. Smell reveals spices and banana. Taste is sweet fruits on the front end with rich, dark malts dominating the finish. Another excellent and complex VE. (347 characters)

The flavor was even better. Similar to aroma but with the volume turned up. Raisin and molasses blend with a smooth blend off sweet chocolate and faint coffee. A little belgiany yeast is underneath serving up a bit of brown sugar. Notes of cherry and cola make a noticeable appearance and linger.

Fnishes long with a beautiful equal blend of flavors lasting long, after the sip. Full mouthfeel, very smooth.

This was a real treat. A belgiany fruit laced porter is how i would describe this. It's drinking great right now... Wish I had more bottles! (859 characters)

Appearance: A monster three finger head that is fairly persistent. The head is medium tan color that is foamy creamy, with a nice lacing on the glass. The color of the beer is a dark brown, near black. The clarity of the beer is opaque.

Nose: A very rich dense malt that is roasted, with caramel, biscuits, and chocolate. Other aromas are coffee, bread, phenols, alcohol, peppery, raisins, and dried cherries. The hop aroma is still prevalent after three years; furthermore, the hops is perfumey, woody, and citrus.